Customer service key to Chase's City Hall efforts

STOCKTON - Steve Chase admits that he may use the Starbucks analogy a little too often in his corner of City Hall.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - Steve Chase admits that he may use the Starbucks analogy a little too often in his corner of City Hall.

But he struggles to find a better example for what he's trying to do.

In July, he took over as director of the city's Community Development Department, where you go for a permit to install a new water heater, build a multimillion-dollar factory and anything in between.

It's long been considered a bureaucratic black hole and endless source of frustration and complaints.

But the next time you come in, Chase wants you to feel like you're second or third in line ordering coffee, when a barista leans over the pastry counter to ask, "Can we get something started for you?"

Chase, 60, is winning praise for his approach.

From the permit counter, Chase has his sights set on making the city's downtown hum with life. By adopting a Starbucks attitude of customer service, Chase thinks people will be more inclined to invest in those old downtown buildings.

He's encouraged by the people around town he's met in his first seven months.

"You come to Stockton, and people tell you stories of hope," he said. "I am blown away by it."

Born and raised in San Francisco, Chase earned his bachelor's degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara. For 37 years, he has worked in city and county government.

He last worked as director of community planning and environment services in Goleta, a seaside community in Santa Barbara County a fraction the size of Stockton.

He and his wife, Tara Chase, have five grown children. One daughter came to study at University of the Pacific and made her family home in Stockton, attracting Steve Chase to take the job here.

Since starting in Stockton, he's hired new staffers and convinced the City Council to let him close the office doors for training every other Friday.

In a list of changes, Chase plans to set deadlines on his staff for approving routine plan checks and permits, a process that before had dragged out indefinitely.

He works closely with Wendy Saunders, director of economic development. Saunders' job is to attract business, and Chase views his role as getting them to come back.

He considers this the third act of his career. He plans to retire in a decade at age 70.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time," Chase said. "It's kind of cool to be part of the management team."

His energy is welcomed by local developers.

Dan Cort, whose firm Cort Companies refurbishes downtown Stockton's historic buildings, said for years the people in Chase's seat found every excuse to say no. Chase does the opposite, Cort said.

"I think he's a man for all seasons," Cort said. "He's committed to letting his staff know they work for us."

Building new homes on wide-open farmland is less complicated and more profitable than trying to make a 1920s building meet modern code for earthquakes and accessible for the disabled, Cort said.

Chase respects developers taking risks and investing their own money, said Cort, noting that he and Chase both grew up in San Francisco and share an appreciation for cities.

The hard-fought battle to make downtown someplace to live may be won within three years, and Chase is at the center of that movement, Cort said.

Mahala Burns, a broker for the Cort Companies, said Chase doesn't act like a typical city building official. She's seen him come to meetings in blue jeans on his day off and bring consensus to feuding parties.

"After dealing with the city for many years, that is a sea change," Burns said. "I can't say enough about how pleased we are about him."

Kevin Dougherty, president and broker at First Commercial Real Estate and Advisory Services, credited City Manager Bob Deis with starting to change the culture at City Hall to Stockton's benefit.

"He can't do that all by himself," Dougherty said. "He can do it with the Steve Chases of the world."

John Beckman, CEO of the Building Industry Association of the Delta, said some unnamed influential groups wish to promote downtown only and kill all development on land on the city's periphery.

Chase believes they both need to coexist, said Beckman, who has worked with Chase and exchanged ideas over the course of the past seven months.

"At this point, its been a good honeymoon," Beckman said. "We're looking forward to a more, longer-term relationship with him."